{"id":156752,"date":"2026-05-10T12:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T12:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=156752"},"modified":"2026-05-11T17:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:00:43","slug":"carnival-fun-match-free-cruises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/cruises\/carnival-fun-match-free-cruise\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Carnival Fun Match to Score a (Nearly) Free Cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you are like most people, a relaxing cruise with most of your activities and meals included is an ideal way to spend your coveted vacation time. Years ago, my husband and I took a couple of cruises and really enjoyed the laid-back, low-planning approach to vacation. If only there were an easy way to use points and miles to get free cruises as we do with hotels and flights!<\/p>\n<p>Cruising seemed outside of the points and miles world. Then, last year, I learned that I could use casino and hotel status to match my way to an almost-free cruise through the Carnival Players Club Fun Match Program.<\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"toc_light_blue no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Page Contents<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Casino_Status_Without_Setting_Foot_in_a_Casino\">Casino Status Without Setting Foot in a Casino<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Tips_for_Completing_the_Carnival_Fun_Match\">Tips for Completing the Carnival Fun Match<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#The_Carnival_Fun_Match_Offers_Come_Rolling_In\">The Carnival Fun Match Offers Come Rolling In<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Free_Isnt_Quite_Free\">Free Isn\u2019t Quite Free<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Bottom_Line\">Bottom Line<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2><span id=\"Casino_Status_Without_Setting_Foot_in_a_Casino\">Casino Status Without Setting Foot in a Casino<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Carnival Fun Match allows you to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/Registration\/Promotions\/casino-funmatch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">submit proof online<\/a> of status with a land-based casino. Once matched, Carnival will offer free or highly discounted cruises. It may sound too good to be true, but Carnival hopes that guests with loyalty to land-based competitors will apply the same loyalty to the casino on board the ship.<\/p>\n<p>If you already have status with a casino loyalty program, such as MGM Rewards or Caesars Rewards, simply upload a copy of the front and back of your loyalty card to the Carnival Fun Match website. Then, wait for your offers to come via email.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2026 I don\u2019t gamble much. I mean, I enjoy a slot machine as much as the next person. I\u2019m not, however, entering poker tournaments anytime soon. So how did I, a virtual gambling rookie, get Diamond status with Caesars? <a href=\"\/news\/wyndham-rewards\/caesars-status-match\/\">Wyndham Rewards matches status with Caesars<\/a>, which means you can become a Caesars Diamond member without ever gambling or even setting foot in a casino!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_93253\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"600\/480\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-93253 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Featured-Caesars-Palace-Las-Vegas.png\" alt=\"Exterior of the Caesars Palace Las Vegas\" width=\"600\" height=\"480\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Featured-Caesars-Palace-Las-Vegas.png 1000w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Featured-Caesars-Palace-Las-Vegas-300x240.png 300w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Featured-Caesars-Palace-Las-Vegas-768x614.png 768w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Featured-Caesars-Palace-Las-Vegas-325x260.png 325w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><center><em>Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Credit: Caesars<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<p>So, how do you go from hotel loyalty to free cruises? Here's the process.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Tips_for_Completing_the_Carnival_Fun_Match\">Tips for Completing the Carnival Fun Match<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It's important to note that, although the\u00a0 Wyndham Earner Business Card gives you automatic Wyndham Diamond status, you can not use this status, gained through the credit card alone, to match to Caesars. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/wyndham-rewards\/wyndham-caesars-partnership\/\" rel=\"noopener\">That loophole ended in 2025.<\/a> Now the language is clear that Caesars will only match Wyndham status gained through &#8220;Wyndham stay activity&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>That said, if you have Wyndham Diamond status earned through stays, one of the perks is the ability to match this status to Caesars Diamond. However, it doesn\u2019t come automatically. You\u2019ll need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caesars.com\/myrewards\/partners\/wyndham_resorts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">match your status<\/a> on the Caesars website. This process took me a few weeks, so your patience may be required.<\/p>\n<p>Once your Caesars Rewards Diamond status is reflected in your account, take a screenshot of your card and use that to submit to the Carnival Fun Match. Note: The submission page asks for pictures of the front and back of the card, but you will only get a physical card if you go to a Caesars casino guest service desk in person.<\/p>\n<p>My own experience\u2014as well as numerous online data points\u2014indicates that Carnival isn\u2019t strict about this and usually accepts a screenshot of your card from the app or website. If you have any other casino loyalty status (<a href=\"\/news\/hotels\/mgm-mlife-rewards-changes-2022\/\">MGM Rewards<\/a>, Wynn Rewards, etc.), you can submit more than one to increase your chances of getting some good offers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_257700\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"750\/408\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-257700 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/carnival-fun-match-2026.png\" alt=\"A screen shot of Carnival's Fun Match info page.\" width=\"750\" height=\"408\" \/><center><em>Carnival's Fun Match Page by Brie Bash\/AwardWallet<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<h2><span id=\"The_Carnival_Fun_Match_Offers_Come_Rolling_In\">The Carnival Fun Match Offers Come Rolling In<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A few days after I submitted my Carnival Players Club Fun Match, I started getting emails with offers from the Players Club. It is very common for the first few offers to be discounts rather than free cruise offers. My first offered up to $500 off. These are base offers, and you should continue to wait at least a few weeks for better offers to come through. Many people have noted that your entire profile must be complete before you\u2019ll get good offers. Make sure you fill that out carefully!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_156753\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"550\/809\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-156753 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash.jpg\" alt=\"Carnival Fun match first offer for bonus cash\" width=\"550\" height=\"809\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash-696x1024.jpg 696w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash-768x1130.jpg 768w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-Fun-match-first-offer-for-bonus-cash-1044x1536.jpg 1044w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><center><em>Credit: Carnival<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<p>About a month after my first emails from the Fun Match came through, I started to get the free cruise offers. My offer was for \u201cUp to a Free Balcony Room.\u201d You do not have to book the first offers you receive! Even though the email says you have to book by the end of the month, nearly everyone gets ensuing offers if you don\u2019t book the first one. Furthermore, sometimes, the offers get better.<\/p>\n<p>There were many available cruises included in this Carnival Fun Match offer: three-day cruises from Los Angeles to Mexico, a 16-day transatlantic repositioning journey, and many seven-day Western Caribbean options. There were even a few Alaskan cruises available. But very few of the bookable options were actually in balcony rooms. Note the important words in the offer: <em>up to<\/em> a free balcony room. Traveling during peak times will definitely limit the rooms available.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_257702\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"550\/532\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-257702 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Carnival-Players-club.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of a Carnival Players Club offer.\" width=\"550\" height=\"532\" \/><center><em>Credit: Brie Bash\/AwardWallet<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<p>I could have waited for other sailings to open up. However, since I\u2019m a teacher, my vacation time is pretty restricted to peak travel dates. In the end, we were happy to snag an eight-day cruise to the Caribbean on the Carnival Vista in a porthole room. It worked with my teacher's schedule, and I was able to book it over a year out. This worked well with our existing travel plans. We also could have paid to upgrade our room, but we decided we were fine with the room provided in the offer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_156755\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-aspectratio=\"750\/754\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-156755 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-8-day-Southern-Caribbean-cruise-itinerary.jpeg\" alt=\"Carnival 8-day Southern Caribbean cruise itinerary\" width=\"750\" height=\"754\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-8-day-Southern-Caribbean-cruise-itinerary.jpeg 1071w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-8-day-Southern-Caribbean-cruise-itinerary-1019x1024.jpeg 1019w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-8-day-Southern-Caribbean-cruise-itinerary-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Carnival-8-day-Southern-Caribbean-cruise-itinerary-768x772.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><center><em>Credit: Carnival<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n<h2><span id=\"Free_Isnt_Quite_Free\">Free Isn\u2019t Quite Free<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The cruise may be \u201cfree,\u201d but you will still have to pay a $100 deposit per person that you get back as onboard credit. Additionally, you will be responsible for port taxes and fees. For our eight-night cruise, we paid a total of $438, with $200 of that available as an onboard credit. You are also responsible for daily gratuities for the staff. Currently, those are $17 per person per day in a non-suite cabin.<\/p>\n<p>The Carnival Fun Match offers include passage for two guests, but you can pay to add family members if your room can accommodate them. This became our \u201canniversary cruise\u201d to Aruba, so we didn\u2019t add the kids for this voyage.<\/p>\n<p>All in, our \u201cfree\u201d Carnival Fun Match anniversary cruise costs $694. However, that covers eight nights for two people. It even includes $50 free play in the casino, as well as free beverages while playing in the casino. We think it\u2019s a fantastic deal. There is no requirement to play in the casino while on board. But with the free play and free beverages, you can bet I found my way to a few slot machines. Why not? It\u2019s an almost-free cruise!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/credit-cards\/best-credit-card-for-travel\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Best Credit Cards for Travel Purchases<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Bottom_Line\">Bottom Line<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Carnival Fun Match has opened up the world of cruising again to our family\u2014without breaking the bank. Thanks to a lesser-known hotel elite status, we enjoyed eight days of low-cost (and kid-free!) cruising. So, if you're yearning for a nearly-free cruise, this status match may be the key to your next fantastic adventure on the high seas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carnival Fun Match allows you to use your existing loyalty to hotels and casinos on the land for nearly-free cruises on the sea. The idea is that luring you with offers could replicate the same loyalty you have to other brands, but now to a cruise company. Here&#8217;s how I used status matching for a big discount on a cruise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":156759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12054],"tags":[36522,12628],"coauthors":[36466],"class_list":["post-156752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-carnival-rewards","tag-travel-experience"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/86"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156752"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262345,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156752\/revisions\/262345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156752"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=156752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}